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| Corner, Near Florian Gate, Old Town, Krakow, Poland © Doug Hickok |
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| Old Door, Near St. Mary's Basilica, Old Town, Krakow, Poland © Doug Hickok |
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| Stone Face, Courtyard of Collegium Maius (where Copernicus studied in the 1490's), Old Town, Krakow, Poland © Doug Hickok |
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| Diamond Tower, Ravenel Bridge, Mount Pleasant, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Town of Mount Pleasant Business Plan The upscale Town of Mount Pleasant, across the harbor from Charleston, used one of my stock images recently for the cover of their Business Plan booklet. The goal is to attract more corporate business to their city, and therefore more revenue for the local economy. Speaking of business, because Becky and I were out of town so much during the summer, I am several weeks behind in photography work. Plus, the busy fall shooting season is under way. To all my blogger friends, I apologize for not being able to visit you as regularly as I would like. Please know I have not forgotten about you! I will catch-up with everyone as soon as I can. Thank you very much for all your comments. I appreciate the time you take to stop by. |
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| Saint Michael's Church and Federal Building, Broad Street,Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok In memory of the innocent and the brave who lost their lives 10 years ago today. The world as we knew it changed forever. |
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| West Prong, Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee © Doug Hickok Most of this soggy summer has been a rush of family events. We have made three road trips to Ohio in the last 60 days. Once for the Schulte family reunion.. a jaunt into the past and getting in touch with the present. Next for our niece's wedding... a wonderful new beginning for Sarah and Mike. Last weekend we made our third road trip. This time we helped move our son in with his cousin... another new beginning, especially when he experiences his first midwestern winter! Since our daughter moved out of the house last year (and is now applying to grad schools), we are officially "empty nesters". We are experiencing a flood of mixed emotions. It is exciting to watch our talented children growing into adulthood, flourishing as amazing individuals. As for us, we are traveling on a new tributary, enjoying a strangely quiet home, filled with distant echos of tiny babbling voices and bubbling laughter. As we returned to South Carolina, we drove through the deluge of Tropical Storm Lee. We stopped briefly in the Great Smoky Mountains where streams and rivulets buoyantly cascaded... each drop of water on its newest journey... like the new beginnings of each member of our family. |
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| Sycamore Trees, Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok The day Irene passed by Charleston, my plan was to photograph a scene of inclement weather. Fortunately, for the lowcountry, there was less of that than expected (though Mother Nature continues to aim hurricanes our way). Instead, I improvised and switched my focus to these rows of sycamores in early autumn color. Sycamores are the first to alert us that "danger" is on the way. They begin to turn yellow at the first signs of drought and are the first to change color when the temperatures begin to drop. Like sentinels on the first line of defense, these trees stand in a column with their camouflage trunks, alerting us to what lies ahead. |
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| Old Ford, Danny's Classic Cars, Elko, South Carolina © Doug Hickok Miss Daisy's Sunday driving car or Bonnie and Clyde's getaway? Imagine what modern autos will look like in 80 years. |
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| Green Light Bulb Cage, Loan Shop, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok A light complement to the red. |
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| SCAD Building, Savannah, Georgia © Doug Hickok This is one of the colorful buildings of the Savannah College of Art and Design. The university offers fine art degrees in 11 majors. Fields of study include historic preservation, sequential art, furniture design, menswear, printmaking, game development, museum studies, and film & television, to name just a few. The school has branches in Hong Kong and Lacoste, France. My daughter studied here her first year of college. |
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| Reflections of a Hotel on Wet Sand, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Beach Walker, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok |
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| Reflections of a Hotel on Wet Sand, Folly Beach, SC © Doug Hickok Where did the man go? |
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| Entry Gate, Saint Philip's Church, French Quarter, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok This weathered iron gate adorns the entry to one of Charleston's most beautiful historic churches. |
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| Sunrise Waters, Charleston Harbor, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok The warm colors of sunrise reflect in the calm waters of Charleston Harbor in this short time exposure. |
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| Faceless Figures, Green Acres Canoe and Kayak, Harrison, OH © Doug Hickok I post this unusual image today because I have not done a Favorite Photographer Friday post in a long time. This kind of picture reminds me of the old master photographer of humor, strangeness and odd juxtapositions, Elliott Erwitt. In case you need a smile (or a cringe) today, below are two links to some of his better known photographs, here and here. Hope you have a fun weekend. |
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| Green Acres Canoe and Kayak, near Whitewater River, Harrison, Ohio © Doug Hickok As August ends and September begins, we start saying our farewells to Summer. In the U.S. this is especially so after Labor Day weekend. We say farewell to family vacations, long weekend getaways, and lingering evenings of ease & relaxation. Farewell to sun & fun, and cooling off in the refreshing waters of rivers, lakes and seas. Farewell to you, lazy, idyllic Summer. Though perhaps I glorify you too much. Mostly, you have been too hot, too dry and too stormy. Call me fickle, but I'm ready for a taste of sweet Autumn. |
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| Red Lotus, Old Farm House Pond, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio © Doug Hickok If you recall your Greek mythology and the story of Homer's Odyssey, the Lotus Eaters were a people inhabiting an island near North Africa who feasted on the Lotus flower and fruit. The plant was said to have a narcotic effect. According to Odysseus, when his ship ran aground on this island, his men munched upon the delicious Lotus plants. They soon felt carefree, being completely apathetic about ever leaving the land of the Lotus Eaters and returning home. Though we did not partake of the fruit or flower of the lotus, we felt the same way about our family and their farmhouse in Lewisburg. |
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| Pulleys, Old Style Harvester, The Old Depot, Village Of Lewisburg, OH © Doug Hickok It was not so very long ago that farmers had to harvest crops by manually removing the grain from the rest of the plant. By the 19th century, machines were invented to do this mechanically, but they were ponderously drawn by horses or mules. By the early 20th century, self-propelled harvesters like this one made the work much easier and efficient. Now antiques, they are put aside to rust in weedy patches of fields, all but forgotten. These relics of by gone eras are reminders of man's ability to constantly improve upon an idea. Today, technology advances with such speed that new inventions are rapidly replaced by the next newest thing, in seemingly just a matter of months. |
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| Window and Sky, The Old Depot, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio © Doug Hickok You might think this is a photograph of a cloud reflected in the pane of a window. But on closer inspection it appears to be an open window to the sky. Or is it? This visual riddle exemplifies the aphorism, "Life is an illusion". |
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| Gargoyle Statue, Village of Lewisburg, Ohio © Doug Hickok We associate gargoyles with towering medieval cathedrals in Europe. These stone sculptures were designed as waterspouts to transfer rainwater away from buildings, or used sometimes as grotesques to scare away evil spirits. So it was a little surprising to find, on our second, most recent road trip to Ohio, a pair of tall gargoyles guarding the entrance to an old Victorian home in the little town of Lewisburg. These two ferocious lions came equipped with glowing red eyes as well. Perhaps this is an intimidating sign to neighbors to beware of trespassing, or simply another version of local mid-American kitsch. With my commitment to unadulterated journalistic reportage, I decided not to use the red eye function on my camera. |
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| Storm Walker, South Battery, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Fortunately, Charleston was only brushed by the outer bands of Hurricane Irene as she passed up the Atlantic coast last evening. Today, our thoughts are with everyone in the path of this destructive force of nature. |
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| Blue Cleat, Union Pier, Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok Large cleats such as this one help hold massive container ships to the piers at Charleston's various marine terminals. Vessels from around the globe arrive to load and unload cargos of all sorts. If only good will traveled as easily... Hope your weekend isn't as stormy as ours is predicted to be! |
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| Flowers in Window Boxes, Tradd St., Charleston, SC © Doug Hickok An assortment of blooming flowers adorn the front of an 18th century house along Tradd Street. Charleston has a 12 month growing season, so it is not uncommon to find beautiful surprises like these window boxes almost any time of year. |
